The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-11-10
Improve Your Stock.


than in any other branch of farm in
dustry. We have also often said that
there Is more money in good stock
than there is in poor. There would
seem to be no room at all to doubt the
truth of the first assertion, but GER
tainly there can be no room to doubt
the truth of the latter. 1t is not prob
able that there is an intelligent man in
the country who would attempt to deny
it. Yet we are met with the stern fact
Athat more than seventy-iive per cent of
the cattle in this country are what we
call scrubs. If we believe either of the
statements above made, therefore. how
Fan this state of affairs be accounted
, for? Or what can be done or said to
induce those people who, as yet, have
taken no steps toward the reaping OF
the harvest which the breeding of good
stock furnishes, to awaken to their own
interestsp This journal has deep in
terest in the welfare of its patrons.
If its own financial interests were not
intimately connected with those of its
W
that every one of them might pros
per greatly and gather rich rewards
for their labors. 1t. therefore. is de-
sirous of closing up all the leaks. and
improving all the sources OF grain up
on the farm. 1t wishes to show to the
man who still breeds scrubs that there
is hole in his pocket through which
The pennies and dollars are being lost.
Some one IN speaking upon this sub
ject, recently said that il man had u
hole in his pocket. he would not con-
tinue to put money into the pocket I'M
less the hole was sewed up. That is
good illustration of the way we lose
when we produce less than we might,
or.-make production more costly than
we need to. Many farmer has
good many holes in his pocket, and he
never sews them up or stops putting
money nto the perforated pocket. 1t
is big hole in the pocket to breed
scrub stock, and the hole is so easily
mended that there is no sort of reason
for such conduct
\ Many are prevented from improving
] their cattle because they are undecld-
ed rs to which is the best breed. We
acknowledge that the investigation of
The merits of the different breeds is an
important matter, and may be offered
as a legitimate cause for delay in some
cases. but the delay even for such a
cause should be reasonable. If per-
son knows nothing or scarcely any
thing about the breeds. he had better
investigate, for he might be so situated
that investment in jersey cattle would
be very poor one on the other hand he
might be so situated that investment in
one of the beef breeds would be equally
improbable. If nothing but the dairy
will paw in any given case, OF course,
man does not want to breed for beef;
and If nothing but beef will pay in II
given case he does not want an exclu-
sively diary breed. But it will require
but a short time for the most nexperi-
enced to learn the difference between
beef and dairy breeds, and that learned.
there is nothing of great Importance in
his way of making u selection. We do
not mean that there is no choice
between the breeds of the different
classes. We think there is, but every
man must decide that for himself. But
man will make money by substituting
ANY one of the breeds that is suitable to
This condition for his scrub stock, or by
breeding up through the use of thor
oughbred males. He may not be sure
that he has selected the best, but he can
be sure that he has selected something
better than he has. Any of the i'm
proved breeds are good, and will prove
satisfactory. We have never yet seen
a representative OF any of the improved
breeds whether it was Hereford, Short
horn, Holstein, Jersey, Pole Angus,
Galloway, Red Polled, Guernsey,
or Ayrshire that was not an
improvement. and would not be
greater source of profit than
the usual run of scrubs. We know
that there are native cattle VIII Oh are
very fine We have never seen better
cows than we have seen among our ma
tives. But such are exceptions. very
great exceptions. And we must al
ways qualify the remarks which we
have made by saying that the merit of
good native cattle is never to be COM
pared to the improved breeds except
while living. On the block they can
not compare, for it is not in them. A
native cow may be an excellent mixer,
indeed a prime mixer, but she cannot
make beef like Short-horn or Here
ford, or even Holstein or Ayrshire.
We do not always comprehend what
the difference in the quality of beef is.
The result of the careful experiments
of Dr. Sprague was to show that the
meat of our common cattle as compar-
ed to that of our beef breeds, was
scarcely more than sole leather to